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Amber Heard
| birth_place = Austin, Texas, U.S. | residence = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = Actress | years_active = 2004–present | spouse = Johnny Depp (m. 2015; div. 2017) | partner = Tasya van Ree (2008–2012) }} Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress and model. Born and raised in Texas, she made her film debut in a minor supporting role in the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), followed by a series of other small roles in television and film. Her first leading role was in the horror film All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006), but it was not released in the United States until 2013 due to distribution problems. Her second major role came in the short-running The CW television series Hidden Palms (2007). Heard's breakthrough came in 2008 with roles in the action film Never Back Down and in the stoner comedy Pineapple Express, which were both box office successes. The same year, she received the Breakthrough Award at Young Hollywood Awards. Heard continued her career with roles in films such as The Informers (2008), The Stepfather (2009), Zombieland (2009), and The Joneses (2009). In 2011, she played the female lead opposite Nicolas Cage in Drive Angry, and opposite Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary; neither were critically nor commercially successful. Subsequently, Heard appeared in 3 Days to Kill (2014), Magic Mike XXL (2015) and The Danish Girl (2015). She also starred in the indie film The Adderall Diaries (2015), the television musical drama One More Time (2015), and the Martin Amis adaptation London Fields (2018). The latter was due to be released in 2015, but became the subject of a series of lawsuit between its director, Heard, and the film's production company over disagreements in its editing and other issues. The film was finally released in 2018, and was both a critical and commercial flop. In 2017, Heard acted as part of an ensemble cast in the indie film I Do...Until I Don't (2017) and made an appearance as Mera in the superhero film Justice League (2017). She reprised the latter role opposite Jason Momoa in Aquaman (2018), which became the most profitable DC Extended Universe film up to that point, and the fifth highest-grossing film of 2018. The same year, Heard was also named a global spokesperson for the cosmetics giant L'Oréal Paris. In 2019, she appeared in supporting roles in the independent films Her Smell and Gully. In addition to her acting career, Heard engages in activism for causes such as LGBTQ rights and domestic and sexual violence awareness. She is an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ambassador and has been named a Human Rights Champion for the Stand Up for Human Rights campaign by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. From 2015 to 2017, Heard was married to her The Rum Diary co-star Johnny Depp. Their divorce drew significant media attention as Heard alleged that Depp had been physically and verbally abusive towards her through most of their relationship. In 2019, he sued her for defamation after she discussed being a victim of domestic violence in the media. He claimed that Heard had in fact abused him; Heard denies this and has repeated her allegations. Career Early work (2003—2007) Heard's earliest acting work included appearances in two music videos, Kenny Chesney's "There Goes My Life" and Eisley's "I Wasn't Prepared", and small supporting roles in the television series Jack & Bobby (2004), The Mountain (2004), and The O.C. (2005). She made her film debut in a minor role in the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), followed by small supporting roles in films such as Drop Dead Sexy (2005), North Country (2005), Side FX (2005), Price to Pay (2006), You Are Here (2006), and Alpha Dog (2006), and guest starring spot in an episode of the police procedural Criminal Minds. Heard's first starring role was playing the main character's love interest in The CW's drama Hidden Palms, which the network wanted to replace summer reruns of other series aimed for younger audiences. The series premiered in the United States on May 30, 2007 to mixed to negative reviews. It was also unpopular with audiences, leading the CW to air only eight of the planned 12 episodes before canceling it. The same year, Heard also appeared in the short movie Day 73 with Sarah, the critically panned drama Remember the Daze, and an episode of the Showtime series Californication. Mainstream recognition (2008—2016) Heard gained more mainstream recognition in 2008, when she appeared in supporting roles in the Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy Pineapple Express and the martial arts drama Never Back Down, both of which were box office successes. That year, she won a Breakthrough Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. Her other 2008 film releases were the critically panned Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Informers, in which she was part of an ensemble cast, and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, an unconventional slasher film in which she had one of her first leading roles. Its director, Jonathan Levine, said he had chosen Heard for the title role because "there was a certain type of beauty and a certain type of innate intelligence that Amber brought to it that is not something you find every day. Certainly, not something you would find in somebody her age. The wisdom she projects I thought was pretty remarkable." Mandy Lane had already premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, and had been initially picked for distribution by Harvey Weinstein. After a negative test screening, Weinstein dropped the film, and it was then released in the United Kingdom in 2008 by a different distributing company. It did not have a theatrical release in the United States until 2013. The Los Angeles Times stated that Heard gave her most "definitive performance to date 2013" in the film, and The Washington Post wrote that she gave a "psychologically interesting performance". In 2009, Heard had roles in the critically panned horror film The Stepfather and in three comedies, the limited-release indie ExTerminators, the critically and commercially successful Zombieland, and the box office disappointment The Joneses. Although she otherwise received relatively little attention from established critics due to her roles being mainly supporting at this point, Variety wrote that "she steals the show" from the film's more established star, Demi Moore, in The Joneses. The following year, Heard starred in the indie drama The River Why and continued her work in the horror genre in John Carpenter's The Ward, which was a critical and commercial disappointment. Carpenter has later stated that he was disappointed in the film but "loved working with Amber and would work with her again without hesitation." She also co-produced and starred in the independent thriller And Soon the Darkness. Heard's next role was as the female lead opposite Johnny Depp in the Hunter S. Thompson adaptation The Rum Diary (2011), which received mixed reviews and was not a commercial success. Heard's other 2011 film release was Drive Angry, a supernatural action thriller in which she was paired with Nicolas Cage. Although the film was critically panned and underperformed commercially, film critic Roger Ebert wrote that she "does everything that can possibly be done" with her character, a waitress who becomes entangled in an undead man's mission to save his daughter from a cult. In February 2011, Heard also appeared on the British television program Top Gear. Heard appeared in no new films until 2013, when she starred in the thriller Paranoia, the action-comedy Machete Kills, and the satirical drama Syrup. All three were critical and box office failures. Her only film release in 2014, the action-thriller 3 Days to Kill, was a box office success but panned by critics. Heard had prominent roles in four films released in 2015, which led James Mottram of the British newspaper The Independent to call it a "watershed year" in her career. In the comedy-drama Magic Mike XXL she played a photographer who flirts with Channing Tatum's protagonist; like its predecessor, Magic Mike (2012), the film was a large box office success. Digital Spy described Heard as "a convincing girl-next-door type". Heard also had a small supporting role as a ballet dancer in Tom Hooper's critically successful historical drama The Danish Girl (2015), which premiered at the 72nd Venice Film Festival. In her third 2015 release, the independent crime thriller The Adderall Diaries, she starred opposite James Franco, Christian Slater, and Ed Harris. Indiewire gave the film a mixed review and stated that Heard was "miscast" but "displays much potential and has succeeded in a bid to be taken more seriously." Her fourth role in 2015 was opposite Christopher Walken in the television film One More Time, which aired on Starz. For her role as a struggling singer-songwriter, she took singing lessons and learned to play piano and guitar. International Business Times described Heard as "talented enough to share a few heartfelt moments in a character that mostly operates on the defensive." The Los Angeles Times called her performance "superb" and The Film Stage stated that Heard did an "admirable job". In addition to her other roles in 2015, Heard played the female lead in the Martin Amis adaptation London Fields, which was initially scheduled to premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It was pulled from the festival roster after director Mathew Cullen sued the film's producers, accusing them of fraud and of using his name to promote a cut of the film he did not support. The film's stars, including Heard, had also written to the producers, objecting to the cut that was seen at press and industry screenings in Toronto. London Fields and Heard's performance received highly negative reviews, and she stated that "it was one of the most difficult movies to film and it has proven to continue to be difficult...I can't say I did her character justice." In November 2016, Heard was sued by the film's producers for $10 million, claiming that she and Cullen made unauthorized changes to the film's script and failed to finish voice-over work. Heard countersued claiming the producers violated a nudity clause in her contract. In September 2018, a settlement was reached, and London Fields was released, becoming a box office failure and earning Heard a nomination for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress. DC Extended Universe and upcoming projects (2017–present) In 2017, Heard appeared as part of an ensemble cast in Lake Bell's indie comedy I Do... Until I Don't and joined the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) cast as Mera, Aquaman's Atlantean queen, in the superhero film Justice League. She reprised the role the following year in Aquaman (2018), which co-starred Jason Momoa, Nicole Kidman and Willem Dafoe and marked Heard's first major role in a studio film. She has stated that one of the reasons attracting her to the part was Mera being "a strong, independent, self-possessed superhero in her own right", who rejects being called Aquawoman instead of by her own name. Aquaman became the fifth most profitable release of 2018, and the most profitable DCEU installment up to that point. The same year, Heard was appointed global ambassador for cosmetics giant L'Oréal Paris. In 2019, Heard played supporting roles in the independent dramas Her Smell and Gully. Her upcoming projects include the CBS All Access miniseries The Stand, based on Stephen King's eponymous novel and co-starring James Marsden, Odessa Young and Henry Zaga. Filmography Film Television Music videos Awards and nominations References Category:American actresses Category:1986 births Category:1980s births Category:April births Category:Actresses